Adjustable pivot member for swinging doors



Dec. 2 6, 1939. SCI-[ROEDER 2,184,532

ADJUSTABLE PIVOT MEMBER FOR SWINGING DOORS Filed Jan. 6, 1939 l N V ENTO R EmggZ/ESc/zraeder ATTORNEY v Patented Dec. 26, 1939 UNITED smres ADJUSTABLE PIVOT MEMBER FOR SWINGING DOORS Ernest R. Schroeder, Hawthorne, N. J., assignor .to American Car and Foundry Company, New

York. N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 6, 1939, Serial No. 249,607 5 Claims. 01. 16-131 This invention relates in general to improvements in the pivot mounting of doors and in particular to universally adjustable pivots for use in positioning and supporting folding or swinging doors, the present application being a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 143,700, filed May 20, 1937.

The drawing shows the invention applied to the positioning or mounting of folding doors for wardrobes, but it is to be understood-that this is merely by way of example as, obviously, the invention is applicable to the mounting of any folding door. In the past wardrobe doors have been hung by means of rigidly mounted pivots 1 which were not readily adjustable. These rigidly pivoted doors became very troublesome and dimcult to maintain in proper operative relation after being in use a short time due to changes in the door as well as the floor or wardrobe which may be rigidly secured to the floor of a building or wardrobe structure with the pivot axis of the member adjustably mounted in order to permit inaccuracies of position of the doors to be corrected.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a pivot member in which the pivot axis may be readily shifted in order tocompensate for changes in the building or wardrobe structure.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of adjustable means for pivo-tally supporting a door supporting rod in such a manner that its axis is properly maintained.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from a study of the following description and accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a portion of a wardrobe showing the application of the invention to one form of door-mounting;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the improved pivot member;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the improved pivot member shown in Fig. 2, with portions thereof broken away to more clearly disclose the construction, and

Fig. 4 is an elevational View. similar to Fig. 1, but showing the use of the invention with another type of door mounting.

clearance is available.-

cross section to provide a base portion 8 and an -ed or ball-shaped head portion l8. Bearing pivot Referring now more particularly to the drawing, as shown in Fig. 1, the wardrobe structure is provided with side walls A, rear wall B and doors C carried for swinging movement by arms I or brackets 2 connected at one end, as at 3, r

to thedoors and secured 'to pivotrod 4, which latter in turn is supported by the improved pivot member D secured to the floor E of a building. The side walls A rest directly upon the floor E, while the rear wall Band doors C, in the instance shown, are raised above the floor to provide an air space below the wardrobe for the purpose of ventilation. Thewardrobe is preferably built into a recess in the wall of a room or building. but may also be installed in any other suitable location'where sufiicient space or There'ma'y be as many doors, each with its individual pivot assembly, as desired, depending upon the size of the wardrobe, but as they are substantially identicaljonly one thereof is shown and described.

Referring now to Fig. 2,-the improved pivot member consists of a'bottom'casting or bearing plate indicated generally at 6, angle shaped in upwardly extending; annular side portion l0 through which latter screws or other securing, means l2 extend, thus securing the bearing plate to the floor E. There are preferably two of these pivot members provided. one at the bottom and oneat the topof the wardrobe structure joined by the pivot rod 4, but since these pivot members are substantially identical, 2. description ofone will suffice; The upper surface of portion 8 constitutes a bearing-surface I3, the purpose of which is hereinafter pointed out. The bearing plate 6 is provided with a'central opening l4 0f sufiicient diameter to accommodate'the end of the pivot rod 4 in case the rod is longer than the distance between the opposed bearing plates. The upstanding edge or flange Ml ofthe bearing plate or cup is drilled and, tapped at a plurality of points toreceive adjusting screws iii. These screws are preferably made with a roundmember 20 is formed with an annular base portion 22 which rests upon the bearing surface is of the bearing plate 6, while the peripheral surface has an arcuate groove 24 cut therein to receive the ball-headed ends of the adjusting screws, thus permitting movement of the bearing pivot member 20 while preventing vertical shifting thereof. Thebearing pivot member or adjusting bearing block is also provided with an upstanding cylindrical projection 26 which is 55 interiorly threaded to receive the respective end of the pivot rod 4 previously referred to. In order to protect the bearing member as well as to give a finished appearance to the assembly a cover member or cap 28 is provided having a downwardly extending flange 30 and a horizontally extending flange 32 adapted to receive securing means such as countersunk screw bolts 34 which extend into the tapped openings in the bearing plate or cup 6. The cap 28 is of sufficient size to provide a considerable clearance between the downwardly extending flange 30 and the edges of the bearing plate, all as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

In securing the pivot member to the building or wardrobe structure, the lower bearing plate or cup (5 issecured to the floor E in approximately the correct position; that is, with the center of the cup coinciding as nearly as possible with the axis of the intended pivot. With the bearing plate 15 secured in position with the fasteners !2, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the bearing pivot member 28, including the upstanding projection 26, is arranged in the cup and seats on the upper surface of the base portion 8. During this preliminary assembly the screws It will be in their drawn position leaving the interior of the ing cup unobstructed, but after the bearing ot member 28 is in position, these adjusting screws are screwed inwardly to engage the pivot member, thus retaining it in position and permitting shifting thereof to such a location within the cup that the pivot axis of the rod 4 coincides with the correct pivot axis for the door. After the adjustable pivot member 20 has been properly located, the protecting cap 28 is placed in position, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and the securing screws 3 inserted, thus securing the parts in position. With the bearing plate 6, pivot member 26 and cap 28 arranged as just described, the pivot rod 4 is placed in position and the lower threaded end of said rod 4 threadedly secured within the pivot member 20 and its associated projection 26. Following this arrangement, the door C is then connected with the rod 4 by means of the arms or brackets ,2. It will be seen that with this assembly should the door or building structure shift in any way due to sagging or shrinkage, the pivot axis may be again returned to its proper position merely by removing the protecting cap 28 and shifting the adjusting screws, thus moving the pivot member or adjustable bearing block to its correct position without in any way disturbing the door structure.

It will be seen that the adjustable pivot mem-- ber just described may be used with various types of wardrobe door mountings; that shown in Fig. i being merely illustrative of one type. Another form of mounting for the wardrobe doors is shown in Fig. 4 in which the pivot rod 4 is connected to the door C by suitable bearings 36 and has its end portions ofiset as at 38 and arranged in the pivot member 20 in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 1.

While the invention has been described more or less in detail it is obvious that various modifications and rearrangements of parts will be pos sible and all such modifications and rearrangements of parts are contemplated as come within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable pivot assembly comprising, a rigid bearing plate, said plate being angle-shaped in cross section and having a base portion providing a support, a pivot member having bearing on said support, a pivot rod carried by said pivot member, and means carried by said bearing plate and engageable with said pivot member for shiftably adjusting the member and rod in any direc tion at right angles to the pivot rod axis.

2. An adjustable pivot assembly comprising, a rigid bearing plate, said plate being angle-shaped in cross section and having a flat base portion adapted to support a pivot member, a pivot member movably supported by said base portion and formed with a groove therein, a pivot rod carried by the pivot member, and means carried bysaid plate and engaging said groove to restrain the pivot member against vertical movement relative to said plate but permitting rotation of said pivot member.

3. An adjustable pivot assembly comprising, a rigid bearing plate, said plate being angle-shaped in cross-section with a flat base supporting portion and an annular wall portion surrounding the same, a disc-like pivot member movably supported on said base portion and formed with a peripheral groove, and means carried by said wall portion and engageable with said groove for shiftably adjusting the position of said pivot member, said means comprising a plurality of ballended screw bolts with the ball end normally positioned within the groove to retain the pivot member in its adjusted position against bodily movement in any direction.

4. An adjustable pivot assembly comprising, a rigid bearing plate, said plate being angle-shaped in cross section and having a base portion providing a support, a pivot member movably supported on said base portion, a pivot rod carried by said pivot member, means carried by said bearing plate and engageable with said pivot member for shiftably adjusting the member and rod in any direction at right angles to the pivot rod axis, and a cap overlapping and proecting said bearing plate and pivot member.

5. An adjustable pivot assembly comprising, a rigid bearing plate, said plate being angle-shaped in cross section with a flat base supporting portion and an annular wall portion surrounding the same, a disc-like pivot member movably supported on said base portion and formed with a peripheral groove, and means carried by said wall portion and engageable within the groove for shiftably adjusting the position of said pivot member.

ERNEST R. SCHROEDER. 

